Emergency M5 repair work to close motorway after ‘defective bridge joint’ found

Drivers have been warned to allow extra time for their journeys on the M5 tonight (October 19) as emergency repair work will close the motorway. The work is being undertaken at junction 27 for Tiverton, near the border with Somerset, with a road closure between 9pm today and 6am tomorrow (October 20).

National Highways ^[1] has said a defective bridge joint has been identified on the north side of the roundabout which needs urgent repair work to avoid further deterioration. There will be no access to the A38 from the northbound junction 27 exit slip road.

Instead, drivers will need to exit at junction 26 and head southbound, accessing the A38 from the M5 southbound exit slip road. For A361 traffic wishing to join the A38 or travel southbound on the M5, the diversion will also be via junction 26.

It comes ahead of a four-night long M5 closure between Gordano and Weston-super-Mare ^[2] next week. The busy stretch of motorway will be closed overnight from 10pm to 6am on Monday (October 23), Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (October 26) for resurfacing works.

Both carriageways will be resurfaced and essential survey work will also take place to inform design work for a bridge refurbishment scheme programmed near junction 21 next year. Heather Lang, National Highways' head of scheme delivery for the South West, said: “We appreciate roadworks can be frustrating but we’re keeping the closures to an absolute minimum and when traffic flows will be at their lowest, and we’ve been liaising with Bristol City Council to ensure CAZ exemptions along the diversion route.

“We need to employ the full overnight closures in order to carry out both pieces of work along this section, and we have communicated the work to businesses and local communities. We advise people to plan ahead and allow extra time for their journeys, and in the meantime we thank all drivers in advance for their co-operation and patience while we carry out these essential works.”

References

^{^} National Highways (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
^{^} four-night long M5 closure between Gordano and Weston-super-Mare (www.somersetlive.co.uk)